Tuesday, 15 April 2008

After the snow of the past weekend, I decided to take a stroll around the ponds this morning to see how the spawn was developing. I could not fail to notice how the water was crystal clear.The marsh marigolds were sporting their new green Spring coats, getting ready to burst into bloom.A friendly male blackbird was so engrossed in his morning routine that he took little notice of me as I sat at the edge of the pond, watching him drinking and bathing, and serenading me with his joyous song. A curious frog swam near to where I was sitting, eyeing me with suspicion, no doubt wondering what I was up to, and whether I was friend or foe...probably remembering that pesky heron from the previous day who had helped himself to a few of his brothers and sisters.As I rounded one of the margins of the pond, the water was a heaving mass of frogspawn within which were hundreds of tadpoles swimming around, all at various stages in their development .On closer inspection I could see, amongst some waterweed, a blob of recent spawn, where the individual eggs were clearly visible.Further over there were older tadpoles, still within their jelly, but with chubby bodies and wiggly tails. Next to them was a section of greenish-coloured spawn, within which were individual tadpoles in little cells shaped like space bubbles ; each tadpole wriggling about inside its capsule. With the sun playing a game of hide and seek with the clouds, the ever-changing reflections gave the impression that some of the spawn was suspended in thick, impenetrable white jelly.

Right in the middle of the mass was a small clump of fresh spawn with tiny eggs in the centre, surrounded by older swimmers practising with their new rudders.There was also a large area of slimy, green matter which would have been left behind from the earliest spawn from which most of the older tadpoles had now hatched.The largest area, however, was a mass of seething, wriggling tadpoles, all closely huddled together for safety and warmth.Zooming in with my camera, I could see within this mass the eldest of all the tadpoles, all squeezed together like sardines, and all breathing through their new gills. I couldn't resist taking a little video of them doing the Hokey Cokey, which you can view just after the little poem.The Barleycorn Bog

Great pics :-) We have had a visit from a heron again which took most of our fish and spawn. Now the blackbirds are having a picnic on the few tadpoles we have left :-) Only the fittest and quickest will survive!

I have been over here before for visits, but it has been a while. My daughter and her cousin loved seeing this and all of the videos, just as I suspected. Erin loved your cats too. The whole family enjoyed it. Thanks.We love your little corner of paradise and gardening style.And thanks for the kind words on my blog.

A joyous post. Lovely to see the tadpoles and the hope of what is to come.Blackbirds are so beautiful, their song is almost like a church choir. How lucky we are to have these wonderful song birds.I have song thrush nesting in the garden at the moment. The snail population has gone down a treat. Hedgehogs are around to, so they of course will help.Isn't wildlife wonderful.

This is a great post and one that should be seen by more people. I liked each of the photographs and also enjoyed the video below. Thanks for reminding me that you had done this. I never seem able to make it around to everyone in spite of trying.

You certainly are experiencing a froggie population explosion. I am interested to see how Nature controls their numbers.The poem is cute, well done..!The video was fun, and I love the birdsong in the background.hugsxx

It is so much fun when the frogspawn starts, we are like little children checking it daily, seeing if its grown, have they any tails! Miss a day and they all hatch! and as you said and showed gather and dance to keep warm!Brilliant post!!!!

Spring is a new season to me. I have always lived through Springs but with a camera and a blog, life is different. I see things I never saw before. I knew life was renewed in spring but never knew the depth and extent of it. It is not an abstract idea, the renewal of life, it is squirming and changing and packed together for safety. This was a wonderful post.

(Are you sure the blackbird wasn't trying to drown itself? That photo is hilarious!)

I agree with you totally that the closer we observe the seasons the more detail we are aware of...for we are using the eye of the artist who learns through observation :)

The blackbird photo is a scream! As he splashed around he whistled and sang his wonderful tune and he was full of that joie de vivre..and I felt as if it was especially for me. I was certainly beaming by the time he had finished :)

Another delightful post. I needed a visit to Barleycorn, afraid if I stay away too long I might miss something wonderful like your lovely photos, vivid tour, and heartwarming poem. Though many miles away, I feel as though you hold our hands on an individual guided tour of your lovely piece of earth.

About Me

In 1990, as we were driving through a little village, I noticed a quaint old barn with a corrugated roof, and a newly-built house adjacent to it. They were standing on a large plot of land, full of pernicious weeds - a corner of a farmer's field, in fact. Then we saw the "For Sale" sign. Four months later we moved in and decided to create a garden for wildlife.
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